a wife in london Flashcards
what are the themes of a wife in london?
power, war, love, time, man and death
“tawny vapour”
Metaphor – referencing the fog which is enveloping the city and perhaps using pathetic fallacy to enforce how the wife feels emotionally when she hears the news of her husband’s death.
“uprolled”
Verb – repetition of the image of the fog.
“webby fold on fold”
Repetition – again the fog being referenced and setting a sombre upset tone.
(all these are a lexical set relating to fog).
“cracks smartly,”
Onomatopoeia – the sound emphasised of the knock on the door from the messenger.
“Flashed news”
Noun phrase – she receives news that her husband has died
(Lexical set relating to sounds) .
“firelight flickers”
Alliteration – reinforcing melancholy and sadness as the woman sits alone upset and aware of her husband’s death.
“whom the worm now knows:”
Metaphor – morbid imagery of the husband being buried away from home.
“highest feather - ”
Metaphor – joyful tone of the letter sent from the husband telling her of his love and his imminent return home to London.
what is a wife in london about?
The poem opens with a description of a wife sitting at home alone in London, against the backdrop of fog and misery which enfolds her. A sharp knock at the door brings her to her senses, and a messenger delivers a telegram with the tragic news that her husband, who is at war in a distant country, has been killed. The poem moves to the following day. Here a letter is delivered to her from her husband who wrote it before he died. He talks with enthusiasm of his hopes for coming home and their future together. The joy and optimism with which he speaks serves to emphasise the terrible waste of his life and the wife’s desolation and sadness.
